I'm preparing to lead next week's discussion of "The Last Stage" in the Reading Room. That's where I'll post my report on Mythcon, along the lines of the report on the Vermont conference. For the moment, let me just say that it was great to meet Ainu Laire, and Arquen and her daughter OrcKid, and to see drogo and Voronwë and WonderBroad again! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> We're discussingThe Hobbit in the Reading Room, Mar. 23 - Aug. 9. Everyone is welcome!

Well, that is too convenient! I’ll still be relatively new at my job next year and so have not much vacation time, and what time off I do have is pretty spoken-for. So I certainly wouldn’t be able to travel to go to one of these things. And here it turns up on my doorstep! Well! Maybe I’ll actually get to attend one now. I would love to meet the TORNfolk who go to these things, including, of course, your bad self! UT says he’d like to come, too. It’s a good thing he’s an interested enough Tolkien fan to stay awake because otherwise I’d have to sharpen up my elbows cuz HE SNORES! :D

And no, they don't mind at all if you squee! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I desired dragons with a profound desire"

"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?" -Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915

Apparently the university can't confirm bookings for next July until this September, but visualweasel's co-chair reported on Saturday that all indications are good.

Mythcon normally runs Friday afternoon through Monday morning, but those who can't take off work will find plenty to do by attending just the Saturday and Sunday events -- as Voronwë and Arquen did. For those who don't stay on campus, I strongly recommend purchasing meal tickets (in advance) as the meals, even when the food is not the best (though it was pretty good at UCLA and Oklahoma, and excellent at Berkeley), most definitely including the Sunday evening banquet. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> We're discussingThe Hobbit in the Reading Room, Mar. 23 - Aug. 9. Everyone is welcome!

"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?" -Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915

Scholar one: Interesting term. I am not sure I have heard that before. Could you define it and use it contextually?

Scholar two: [interrupting] Don't be daft, man, it's a Middle English term derived from OE; in fact, I believe Tolkien discussed it in [refers to terribly rare and esoteric old paper by Tolkien of which only two copies areextant]. Here, I happen to have a copy in my backpack.

Scholar three: I happened to overhear and while I ordinarily respect your opinion, you are off base entirely. I have been speaking Anglo-Saxon since tenth grade, and it is most definitely not an Anglo-Saxon term!

Scholar four: Yes, fine, all that is very interesting, but the essential question is this: do Elves squee?

Meantime, the squee-ers quietly exit the room.

LOL

Just kidding. Mythies are terribly tolerant, at least from my one experience. They will not care a fig if you squee. Just use complete sentences if they ask you for a definition of the term!

a.s. "an seileachan"

Pooh began to feel a little more comfortable, because when you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.

...it was very difficult for me to hold back a "squee" when I realized that, as you and I sat chatting in a hallway, the two and only Hammond & Scull came by wearing dragon T-shirts, and then the four of us talked about Pauline Baynes...

That is one of the glorious things about Mythcon, one gets to meet legends! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I desired dragons with a profound desire"

"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?" -Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915

What was the nature of the paper? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I desired dragons with a profound desire"

"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?" -Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915

..."The Crown of Durin and the Shield of Oromë the Great: Spirituality and History in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings", and was apparently intended to be another in a series of papers in which Reid attempts to show how the films' techniques echo Tolkien's grammatical structures. However, this time Reid pulled back and presented only the first half, not reaching a discussion of the films. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> We're discussingThe Hobbit in the Reading Room, Mar. 23 - Aug. 9. Everyone is welcome!

But I think Reid was describing the variety of responses viewers might have to the films. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> We're discussingThe Hobbit in the Reading Room, Mar. 23 - Aug. 9. Everyone is welcome!

In my participation on the "Tolkien in the 21st Century" panel last weekend, I mentioned as one of the variety of reactions to the films being "swooning for Orlando Bloom" (which elicitated a couple of chuckles).

But to be honest, I'm still not sure I understand exactly what "squeeing" is. 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

is the combination of a scream and a squeal. Adoloscent girls are particularly good at it, but no one is completely immune.Each cloak was fastened about the neck with a brooch like a green leaf veined with silver.

`Are these magic cloaks? ' asked Pippin, looking at them with wonder.

`I do not know what you mean by that,' answered the leader of the Elves.

Pooh began to feel a little more comfortable, because when you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.

"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?" -Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915

Pooh began to feel a little more comfortable, because when you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.